A special investigative feature on how India’s booming but unregulated private transport sector has turned buses into mobile firetraps – and why the answer lies in certified Fire-Retardant Aluminium Composite Panels and Honeycomb Technologies.
A special investigative feature on how India’s booming but unregulated private transport sector has turned buses into mobile firetraps – and why the answer lies in certified Fire-Retardant Aluminium Composite Panels and Honeycomb Technologies.
In the past fortnight alone, India has witnessed at least 41 deaths and more than 40 severe injuries in bus fires across Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana.
The stories blur into a tragic pattern: an AC short circuit in Jaipur, a tyre burst near Lucknow, a jammed door in Kurnool. By the time rescuers arrive, the flames have already turned lives into statistics.
Eyewitnesses speak of doors that refuse to open, toxic smoke that suffocates before flames even touch, and bus bodies that crumble and melt in minutes.
Each tragedy exposes an uncomfortable truth: most private buses in India are built with cheap, substandard, and highly combustible materials — materials that would never pass fire-safety tests in advanced economies.
The Kurnool inferno (Oct 23–24, 2025), which killed 25 people, was no isolated event. A week earlier, 20 passengers were charred in Jaipur after an alleged AC short circuit ignited synthetic interiors. Days later, two more lives were lost when a bus brushed a live wire near the same city.
A final near-miss in Gurgaon on Oct 30 mercifully saw no casualties — but only because the driver spotted smoke early.
These are not accidents. They are symptoms of systemic negligence — and of a mindset that prizes margins over materials.
Behind every glossy, “luxury” sleeper coach lies a silent killer: low-grade, non-FR Aluminium Composite Panels (ACP sheets).
These panels, made by sandwiching a thin aluminium sheet around a plastic core, are meant to provide lightness, aesthetics, and durability. But when the core is made of Polyethylene (PE) or other non-fire-retardant polymers, it acts like a solid fuel pack.
In a confined space like a bus cabin, even a small spark from wiring, battery, or AC can cause flashover in less than 90 seconds.
And yet, these panels dominate India’s bus fabrication market. Why? Because they’re cheap – 40–60% cheaper than certified FR-grade variants.
Industry insiders estimate that non-FR ACPs make up over 80% of the panels used in private intercity buses, despite repeated warnings from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and state transport safety audits.
Read also: Ex-JournaIist Converts an Old Bus into a Public Toilet for Women Using Aludecor ACP Sheet
Across southern India, a silent but dangerous trade thrives – several ACP manufacturers are flooding the market with low-cost panels made specifically for bus body fabrication. Behind the glossy finishes and deceptive marketing lies a harsh truth: most of these panels are non–Fire-Retardant (non-FR) grades, built to meet price points, not safety standards. Devoid of compliance with international fire-performance benchmarks such as EN 13501-1 and ASTM/NFPA, these materials effectively turn buses into mobile fire hazards – a ticking time bomb running on India’s highways every night.
To understand the stakes, one must understand the difference between survival and disaster, and that difference lies in material engineering.
🔹 Fire-Retardant ACPs (FR ACPs):
FR ACPs use minerally filled cores (typically aluminium hydroxide or magnesium hydroxide) that release water vapor under heat, delaying ignition and reducing flame spread.
They are tested under EN 13501-1, achieving classifications like A2-s1,d0 or B-s1,d0 — meaning limited combustibility, minimal smoke emission, and zero flaming droplets.
At Aludecor, for instance, the Firewall series is certified under Emirates Safety Laboratory (ESL, Dubai) for these ratings and backed by European Technical Assessment (ETA) certification – proof that they meet stringent European fire-safety criteria.
🔹 Honeycomb Panels (HCPs):
These go a step further.
Composed of aluminium skins bonded to a hexagonal aluminium core, Honeycomb Panels have zero polymer content and offer unmatched rigidity-to-weight ratio.
They are non-combustible, non-toxic, and do not emit smoke — ideal for applications like bus exteriors, partitions, and ceilings where passenger safety and lightweight construction are both critical.
Using FR-grade ACP or HCP in buses can contain fire spread, prevent toxic smoke inhalation, and offer passengers crucial escape time — the difference between a scare and a tragedy.
India’s private bus industry operates in a fragmented ecosystem of small body builders, many unregulated. Their tender criteria? Lowest cost.
A mid-sized bus body uses about 600–700 sq. ft. of composite paneling. Switching from PE-core to FR-core panels may add ₹40,000–₹60,000 per vehicle; a cost difference of ₹100–₹150 per passenger spread over the vehicle’s life. Yet, for most fabricators, this small addition is avoided to retain margins.
Read also: Aludecor Unveils Nexcomb: Inspiration for Nex Gen creativity with Aluminium Honeycomb Panels
The outcome is catastrophic.
Each time a PE-core ACP ignites, it burns at over 600°C, releasing carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide – gases that kill long before flames reach.
In the Kurnool tragedy, investigators found the bus’s inner panelling and ceiling sheets had polyethylene cores melting and dripping flames onto passengers as they struggled to break windows.
India’s Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) mandate “flame-retardant interior materials” for buses, but enforcement is limited.
Testing protocols remain inconsistent, and many regional transport authorities accept mere “manufacturer self-certification” rather than verified FPC or EN-based test reports.
Unlike the European Union, where A2-grade FR panels are mandatory for transport interiors, Indian regulations do not differentiate between flame-retardant and fire-retardant — two terms worlds apart in scientific meaning.
“Flame-retardant” only delays ignition for a few seconds.
“Fire-retardant” (FR) actively resists combustion, prevents smoke spread, and does not drip molten material.
The result? A regulatory blind spot that allows cheap, unsafe products to thrive, and lives to be lost.
When buyers like fleet owners, contractors, or local body manufacturers lack technical awareness, they often equate ACP = ACP.
They don’t know the difference between PE-core, FR-core, or A2-core grades. They rarely ask for certifications like EN 13501-1, NFPA 285, or ASTM E119.
The market’s lack of education has created a perverse economy of ignorance — where cheap sells faster than safe.
Even insurers struggle to classify material-based risks accurately. As a result, insurance premiums for private buses haven’t adjusted to reflect material risk, giving operators no incentive to upgrade.
🔹 1. Certification-Driven Bus Body Manufacturing
Regulators must enforce material-level certification – not just end-product declarations.
Every ACP or composite panel used in bus construction should have Factory Production Control (FPC) certification and EN 13501-1 rating documentation.
🔹 2. Buyer Education and Public Awareness
Fleet owners and state transport corporations must be educated on Fire-Retardant (FR) vs Non-FR materials.
As India transitions to electric and hybrid transport, thermal management and material safety will only become more critical.
EV buses, with high battery heat loads, require non-combustible skins and panels — not PE-core composites that can turn a minor short into an inferno.
Emerging technologies like smart fire-sensing composites, intumescent coatings, nanoceramic-filled ACPs are already redefining safety benchmarks globally.
India’s mobility sector must align and not lag.
By integrating FR-grade materials, the nation can transform its public transport from death traps to safety benchmarks.
Read also: India’s First ACP Manufacturer Earns European ETA Certification: A Proud Milestone for Aludecor
“Every time a bus catches fire, we lose more than lives, we lose trust in materials,” says Ashok Kumar Bhaiya, Founder and CMD – Aludecor.
“Our responsibility is to educate and transform how India looks at composites, not as cost-saving panels, but as life-saving technologies. The day FR-grade ACPs and Honeycomb Panels become non-negotiable is the day we can stop counting casualties.”
This vision is not rhetoric – it’s a responsibility manifesto for every manufacturer, policymaker, and consumer.
No parent should lose a child to a fire that could have been prevented. No passenger should board a bus unaware of what it’s made of.
The next time you step into a sleeper coach or luxury bus, ask:
If not – demand better.
Because fire doesn’t differentiate between buildings and buses, and safety shouldn’t either.
Leave a Comment